Circuit Judges Appeal For Help To Handle Growth

TITUSVILLE — Judges from the 18th Judicial Circuit appealed for an additional circuit judge Thursday during a meeting with representatives of the state court certification group.

Requests for new judges must be certified by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Parker Lee McDonald and recommended by him to the Legislature for funding.

Chief Judge Clarence Johnson of the Brevard-Seminole district said the request was based on several factors, including the increased filings in the district in recent years and the geographic length of Brevard county.

If a new circuit judgeship is approved that position would go to Seminole County, Johnson said. The district's newest judge, Lawrence Johnston, will be doing 60 percent of his work in Seminole and 40 percent in Brevard during the coming year. With a new position, Johnston, who will be sworn in Jan. 5, would devote all of his time to Brevard.

Judges also asked for a new county judgeship in Brevard.

Johnson said statistics presented Thursday showed that Brevard has more county court jury trials than any other county in the state. The county's 311 trials this year are about one-third more than the number of county jury trials in Orange County, he said.

Brevard has been certified for a new county judge through the same procedure followed Thursday for the past two years, but the position has never been funded, Johnson said.

In the past 13 years, only two new circuit judgeships have been created for the district, he said.

''The state attorney's office, the Bar, the public defender's office, all those have increased in those years and the number of judges has remained virtually the same,'' he said.

Johnson presented statistics that showed each of the 14 circuit judges handle an average of 1,915 cases a year. He also cited statistics from State Attorney Norm Wolfinger that showed a 33 percent increase in criminal filings in the past year.